Designing a new menu is an emotional process, particularly when choosing the tableware to present your dishes on. The precise dish can magnify your hard work and have the diner ‘cooing’ before they have even picked up their knife and fork. The sight and smell of your dish can mean that it is considered a success before it has even been tasted. It is a win-win for you and your customer and if you're lucky it may even lead to photos being shared and circulated on social media. Therefore, persuading friends and family to book a table with you in the coming months.
On the other hand, matching the wrong China with your dish can leave the food to do most of the talking and this is best case scenario. Worst case it will leave the food to take care of all presentation elements and you would have to be very confident, or thoughtless, to not want to present your dish on China that will stage it as well as possible. Learn more in our guide on The Art Of Food Plating.
Making this decision even more challenging, there is a multitude of options when it comes to choosing your China. There are different shapes, colours, sizes and most importantly different price points. All of which can have an impact on your decision. Manufactures aim to cater for every quirk that may exist on the market, resulting in 200+ page catalogues and that’s just for ceramics. If you are fortunate enough to have a holiday booked and are in need of a poolside read, then perhaps you may be able to work yourself through a few manufacture brochures. However, if you do not have a holiday booked or you would prefer to not spend your time in the sun reading tableware catalogues, then hopefully we can save you a few hours of research with some basic summaries of the options you have available to you.
In the below article we will address shapes. There are only so many things you can do with clay when designing a plate to eat off, making that we only have 5 basic shapes. They are round, square, coupe, triangular and oblong. Each shape comes with its own features and benefits, depending on what you're trying to achieve.
Triangular Plates
Triangular plates are the least common. They are often used to serve one single item, which would be held at one end of the plate. This would usually be the central component of a dish, leaving a larger area at the other end for the complimentary items. For example, a slice of cake for desert held at one end with the larger area used for fruit to balance the dish whilst adding colour and texture.
Triangular plates can be sharp with straight lines or they can be softer with rounded edges such as those in the Olympia Kiln range. In any case a triangular plate adds a modern yet playful twist to a dish. They are well suited to casual dining outlets or lunch menus.
Square Plates
Square plates such as the Royal Bone China plate were once the essence of modern chic dining, but they have now been replaced by the casual dining trend that has rapidly increased in recent years. However, do not let that fool you. When a particular shape has decreased in popularity therein lays its strength. If you want to go for something different, then square plates may be the one for you. The style traditionally pairs well with Asian food, that being said the straight, clean lines of a square plate relay an essence that will work well with almost any cuisine. The downside to square plates is that the shape does not pair well with edge-chip resistance. Often meaning that the manufactures will not offer the same guarantees that they would on a round equivalent. Most will even offer ‘rounded squares’ to reverse a little of this effect.
Round Plates
Round plates are the most common and universal shape. Well, they are popular for a reason, they are not linked to a trend or fad and so they won’t go out of fashion. They naturally frame the food and are a convenient shape for dishwashers and back of house storage. A big majority of professional kitchens choose round tableware, doing so can eliminate one part of the decision process and allow you to concentrate on colour texture and price. Although, ease of manufacturing means there tends to be a lower price point than some other shapes. The Pillivuyt Tekk shown to the right adds to the natural trend whilst retaining the ability to frame your dish without drawing the attention from your food.
Rectangular Plates
Rectangular plates include oval and rectangular pieces. It is rare to see a kitchen using rectangular plates exclusively, as the shape does not pair well with some dishes. For example, could you imagine being served a risotto on a rectangular plate? However, the shape can be used to enhance some of your dishes for instance a trio of deserts on a rectangular plate such as the Lumina Fine China above provides the perfect presentation.
Rectangular plates can also be used to complement other shapes that are being used on the table. Certain foods will almost always suit rectangular plates (fish and chips, burgers, sharing platers) but there is no right or wrong when it comes to choosing what to pair them with. Whether you pair softer, oval shaped oblongs with the soft lines of round plates; or straighter-edged, rectangular oblongs with the more defined outline of a square plate, you're adding a real depth to your food plating presentation. You do also have the option to do the opposite, creating a contrast and therefore changing the way your menu is presented.
Coupe Plates
Coupe plates are flat and rimless plates but have a slight concave and are sometimes referred to as flat bowls. The simple aesthetic of a coupe plate provides a blank canvas that will naturally draw the eye to the food as opposed to what it is being served on. By choosing a pate that is as discreet as possible you are making sure your food is always the star of the show.
The coupe design is popular for coloured or textured China, allowing the colour or texture to be the key design feature rather than the shape itself. Particularly the case with Churchill's Stonecast range as you can see below. This adds warmth to your food with its colour and rustic style. The super vitrified stonecast range colour has been chosen to reflect the changing seasons; each piece is individually painted to achieve this with maximum effect.
Time to go Shopping
Ultimately, you do not need to worry over these decisions. The choice has to fulfil person preference as much as anything else, and its rare you find that you don’t have a natural fondness towards one or two of these shapes. Now you know the fundamentals of each shape, this will hopefully give you a good starting point and you can begin selecting your crockery with a bit more confidence.
